"His heart was bigger than him," said Sandy Furtado, a family friend. "He just wanted everyone to get along. This is a tremendous loss to all of us. Chris didn't deserve this."

Keil was shot and killed late Saturday night while standing in front of a neighbor's home on Sunbeam Circle in San Jose. Police said two people drove up in a car, with one person getting out of the vehicle and shot Keil before the suspect sped off.

File image of Chris Keil

Keil wore No. 90 for the Santa Clara Black Hawks and many friends wore the team jersey at Tuesday's vigil. Keil's father also serves as the vice president of the Northern California Hockey Association.

"Any of you who read my Facebook post know that Christopher will be in our hearts and heads for the rest of our lives," father Mark Keil said. "That's who Christopher was and is."